In 2014, when the federal government repatriated the transfer of settlement funds from the provincial Government of BC to the national settlement program, there was a shift in the way that organizations serving immigrants and refugees interacted with the provincial government. An open and collaborative relationship had been valued by the sector and now under federal oversight for all federally eligible newcomers, there was a disconnect between how the settlement sector provided services, engaged in policy discussions, and planned programing for future needs of newcomers served under provincial funding. In this past year, the settlement sector has seen a shift in the approach that the provincial Government of BC is taking towards the needs for newcomers to our province to settle in BC, integration into their communities and fill much needed job vacancies.

With this positive shift, AMSSA is capitalizing on the opportunity to engage with the Province of BC to share the valuable insights of the settlement sector as well as other key stakeholders in immigrant settlement, integration, and employment. This report is a culmination of extensive consultations in which participants with expertise in settlement, integration, and employment shared their ideas for ways in which the Province of BC can enhance their engagement and plan for the future.

The mission of the Provincial Engagement Strategy is to develop a Call for Action to the provincial Government of BC to formulate a multi-year strategy on how immigration will be managed over the next three to five years.
The Provincial Engagement Strategy looks to fill the following three main objectives:

To identify key gaps in services and/or policies between what is currently being supported by the federal Government of Canada and the provincial Government of BC, with the actual needs of newcomers to BC.

To identify what strategies have been successful in providing support to newcomers in BC.

To use the gaps and best practices identified to formulate specific recommendations on how the provincial Government of BC can enhance co-managing and co-planning of immigration with the federal government, the municipalities and the settlement sector.